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Series of Attacks Across Iraq

Series of Attacks Across Iraq

A series of bomb explosions in Iraq caused more deaths amongst Shia Muslims of the Baghdad.

One bomb went off near a crowded bus stop in Sadr City neighborhood, killing nine people, including children and wounded 16.

Another bomb aimed to target polices patrol missed the target and killed two civilians and wounded 10 in the capital’s northern Chikok district.

The third bomb exploded in Baghdad’s eastern suburb of Kamaliya killing three civilians and wounding 14 others.

Thursday night, shortly after sunset, a suicide bomber set off his explosive belt near a Shia mosque in the city of Kirkuk after being prevented by guards from entering. Four people were killed and 42 were wounded in the attack that was apparently targeting Shia Muslims inside the mosque.

Violent acts aimed to increase sectarian dispute is increasing in Iraq. SRW believes Iraqi government should investigate the bombings and make sure all groups, majority Shia Muslims and minority Sunni, live in peace. The government should ensure that terrorists do not find opportunities to turn sectarian violence into bloodshed.

Africa: The New Host of Anti-Shi’ism?

nigeriaA Shia Muslim man was shot killed in a ritual program on May 5th, 2013. Musa Abubakar, a Shia Muslim man was targeted in the annual birthday of Lady Fatima, the Prophet Muhammad’s daughter, in Suleja town of Niger State. He died on spot and the shooters drove away.

The Shia Muslims of the area have been celebrating this peaceful ritual for the last 15 years with no opposition from any group. Now, as anti-Shia violence is growing in different parts of the world, African Shia fear that the trend is spreading in their communities.

Some sources estimate that almost 10% of Muslims in Africa are Shia. SRW hopes this incident does not open doors to an anti-Shia trend in Africa. It is crucial for local governments and authorities to investigate the terror and prevent future Shia rights violations.

Another Bloody Day for Iraqi Shia Muslims

iraq--Wednesday May 15, 2013 was another deadly day in Iraq when two car bombs exploded in Shia populated area of Baghdad. The targeted bombs killed as many as 30 civilian.

Iraqis, who were oppressed under Sadam regime for many years, are now fighting each other for political preferences. Sunni extremist disappointed with the Shia lead government show their opposition violently. The extremists repeatedly target Iraqi Shia and their holy sites.

Shia Rights Watch condemns targeting innocent Shia Muslims by extremists. This organization believes all have the right to express their thoughts and take part in their government, however violent should not be used.

SRW invites all appositions in Iraq to practice their basic human rights without use of any violence.

Egypt and Growing Anti-Shi’ism

egyptThe rapid growth of anti-Shi’ism in Egypt raises many questions. No other country, even Saudi Arabia, where Wahhabism was born and has been fed financially and ideologically, witnessed such a rapid anti-Shia growth. The trend increased even more after the beginning of the Egypt/Iran relationship since 2011. These countries did not have political relationships for last 30 years.

Shi’ism is not new in Egypt, but anti-Shi’ism is. Everyday more Egyptian Salafi clerks post their anti-Shia lectures and threats on YouTube and other social media outlets. Many Egyptian citizens believe Shia are not even Muslim. Some of them hold signs with anti-Shia messages and post their pictures on Facebook advocating for their opposition. Shia Muslims in Egypt do not feel safe. They have been arrested, expelled from school or threatened because of their faith. Many well known Salafi and Wahabbi clerics threaten to kill Shia Muslims and cut them in pieces. Media outlets invite citizens to report any Shia related activities they notice. Shia Muslims are viewed as “threat to nation’s security” although Shia Muslims have long history in Egypt and they never caused any dispute. It is critical to study roots of this increasing phenomenon and prevent Shia rights violations in this country.

One of the most common yet uneducated assumptions that some groups make is associating political region or government to Shia faith. If Egyptians dislike Iran, they should not associate this country with any faith, since Shi’ism has been practiced since the life of the Prophet of Islam. There are millions of Shia Muslims around the world. Shi’im is not limited to one country and Shia are free to hold any nationality.

In our diverse and media connected world it is not wise to associate any religion or faith to any political region or government.

Egyptians can choose to have or not to have political relationship with any country; however, they have no right to violate the basic human rights of Shia Muslims due to their political preferences.

SRW invites all, especially Egyptians, to stop human rights violations toward Shia Muslims. Human rights are inalienable and no one has the right to violate them.

Pakistan Untold Stories

Washington DC — Shia Rights Watch is releasing a report cataloging human rights abuses against the Shia Muslims Minority in Pakistan on May 6, 2013.
This 28-page report details violations to the Shia Muslim minority of Pakistan. The report is based on Interviews, site visits, news articles, NGO, and human rights reports.  Accoutering to the report hundreds of Shia Muslims lost their lives in 2012 as a result of violation to religious freedom, intolerance, and freedom of anti-Shia terrorist groups in Pakistan.  The government’s failure to protect Shia Muslim and raising violations toward Shia Muslim is endangering hundreds of Pakistani citizens and must be stopped now.
Journalists, researchers, and human rights advocates interested in obtaining a copy before the release of the report may contact the organization directly.
SRW, is a non-profit, non-governmental entity which defends Shia Muslim rights around the world.

New Trends in Syria

In an ancient area of Syria, where some historical sites date to more than a thousand years ago, the grave of Hejr bin Udai had stood for more than 1383 years — one of the holy Shia Muslim sites in the small village of Adra.

Today only dirt, broken doors, and walls remain.

Once it was believed anti-Shi’ism means torturing and killing Shia Muslims or calling them infidels, however anti-Shi’ism does not stop there. Discrimination and inhumane violations toward Shia is growing and finding new faces.

The most recent face of anti-Shi’ism is deleting their history by destroying and demolishing their holy sites while Shia Muslims existed from the time of the Prophet Muhammad and have a long history.

Since Shia cleansing cannot be successful without cleansing the history, terrorists now target Shia historical sites and shrines. It is assumed that their brilliant history can be blacked out by targeting their sites.

This trend started with destroying graves of four Shia Imams in Saudi Arabia and continued by demolishing Shia mosques and Islamic Centers in Bahrain. The shrine in Iran was bombed once. In Syria the shrine of Lady Sukaina was destroyed, then Shia mosques burned down, and shrine of Lady Zainab was attacked multiple times. Holy shrines in Iraq have been targeted many times. In Pakistan Islamic centers were bombed repeatedly. And now, once again a grave of a very influential companion of Prophet of Islam was demolished and his grave was dug up.

It is unfortunate to see hatred has grown so much that targeting deceased is considered honor by anti-Shia groups.

Shia Rights Watch condemns the inhumane act of terrorism that attacks Shia Muslim’s holy sites. Such acts can only carried by brain washed terrorists who have no respect for humanity” said, SRW’s director, Mustafa Akhwand. Anti-Shia groups might be able to abuse their power to attack historical sites, however they cannot delete the Shia Muslims from the history, he continued.

SRW asks humanitarian groups and departments of historic resources around the world to take action and stop demolition of Shia historical sites now before it’s too late.


 

 

New series of violence against shia in iraq

iraq-As sectarian violence increases in Iraq, three Shia populated cities of Iraq witnessed bombings on April 29th. At least 23 killed and 79 wounded in 5 bomb explosions.

Amarah, a Shia populated city of Iraq became a home for a bomb explosions on Monday April 29, 2013. Multiple cars wen off Monday and killed 13 and wounding 42 civilians.

Another explosion went off near Diwaniyah killing eight civilians and wounding 25 others.

Only hours later a bomb exploded near Karbala, one of the most important Shia populated cities of Iraq. The explosion killed two and left 12 wounded.

The recent Shia targeted bombings is resulting in death of many innocent Shia Muslim. Anti-Shia groups intend to increase unrest in Iraq to show their apposition to Shia government of Iraq.

SRW invites all groups to have tolerance and respect toward each other. The newly stabled country such as Iraq should not become a place for violence and human right violations as this country recently gained its freedom from Sadam’s dictator regime.

Killings Countinues

On April 8th, 2013 two Shia Muslims were killed and two seriously wounded by anti-Shia groups. Sh.Mohd.Hassan Kashmiri, a Shia activist, was shot and killed as two motorcycle riders attacked him.

Another Shia Muslim, Baqar Zaidi, was wounded in an attack and his driver was killed on spot. The driver, Qasim Jafri, was shot in the head in a drive by shooting.

In another incident, 54-year-old Syed Baqir Hussain Zaidi was also wounded due to shooting to his left arm and leg.

Continually Shia targeted killings in Pakistan are adding to the number of death of innocent people and the authorities lack the desire to stop the trend.

As terrorists kill and injure Shia men, who are often the primary financial providers of the family, more and more children are facing poverty. Due to the rising violence against Shia Muslims in Pakistan many women and children lack adequate nutrition and education. The Pakistani government and international humanitarian organizations must realize that sectarian conflicts not only affect the security of the country but also results in increased poverty, lack of education, rising emotional difficulties.

International agencies must get involved to stop the elevating problems in Pakistan. SRW invites all organizations to help each other by reporting and targeting human rights violations and help Pakistani Shia Muslims regain their security and live in peace.

Election, Raising Opportunity for Violence

May 11th is the general Election Day in Pakistan and as we get closer to the date violence is rising in this country. Two Shia politicians have already been targeted. Last week’s two attacks killed nine and injured more than 20.

First bomb targeted the campaign office of Noor Akbar Khan, who is running in the Orakzai tribal district. Six people died and 10 were injured due to the explosion.

A second bomb targeted a campaign office of another candidate, Nasir Khan Afridi, in the suburbs of Peshawar city, and killed three people and injured 12.

Taliban spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan claimed responsibility for both attacks.

As candidates campaign for election the danger of the targeted killings elevates in Pakistan. It is critical for the Pakistani government to assure election is done in safe and secure environment where people can freely participate and vote for their candidates. Shia Rights Watch believes it is time for the government to show its power and prevent human rights violations.

Terrorists Taking Over Social Media

tweetSaudi cleric encourages killing women and children in Iraq through his social media account. Sa’ad Aldurihim, a Saudi cleric and faculty member of the Muhammad Bin Saud Al- Islamic University in Saudi Arabia uses his Tweeter account to encourage killing Iraqi women and children. Aldurihim especially emphasizes on calling Shia infidel and believes killing Shia women and children is a permitted. He actively and publically calls fighters to terror Shia Muslims.

Saudi Wahhabi clerics use social media to spread terrorism and anti- Shi’ism. They use Islam as a tool to reach their political goals. Saudi Arabia has been the wealthiest anti- Shia government that uses its money and power in the Middle East to oppress Shia Muslims. History of Islam proves Prophet of Islam never permitted killings due to ideological or religious differences. Saudi clerics must identify the source of their believes since their model does not exist in history of Islam.

SRW insists all extremists, especially those who publically radiate act of terror, must be identified and investigated by governments and human rights organizations. It is illegal to encourage killing and discriminations and the discriminators should be punished.

UN Complaint